2501 i think i’m pretty firmly in the minority here, but i adored every minute of that Link’s Awakening remake, and i still pop it open from time to time, just to hang out in that world.
Link’s Awakening (Game Boy version) is maybe my favourite game of all time (top five for sure), and possibly the game responsible for transmogrifying me into a lifelong video game person. so if anyone’s in a position to be critical of an unnecessary remake, it would be me. but i think the remake accomplishes that magical task of looking as good as i remember the original game looking when i was a boy. let’s face it: original Game Boy graphics can be a little hard to go back to, even ones as lovingly crafted as the ones in Link’s Awakening.
so for me, the remake represented a way to re-experience what it felt like to be under that game’s spell for the first time. the world came alive in a way it might not have if i’d simply played the Game Boy version again.
also, i can see the new graphics as a way of sugar-coating a bitter pill for “today’s gamers.” Link’s Awakening is absolutely a Game You Must Play, because it is a 10/10 expert level piece of game design. but without a fresh coat of paint, people who didn’t grow up with 2D pixel-based graphics (not everyone is nostalgic for or appreciative of that aesthetic!) might not think to sit with Link’s Awakening for an extended period of time.
shame about that frame rate, yes. but honestly it didn’t bother me until after the fact, when i heard people talking about it.